1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for the thermal destruction of waste. More particularly, the invention concerns a novel afterburner apparatus and its method of use for removing pollutants from industrial waste streams by high temperature thermal destruction using hydroxy gas.
2. Discussion of the Invention
Industries throughout the world have come under increasing regulatory pressure to limit the quantities of pollutants discharged to the surrounding environments. Of particular concern is the removal from industrial waste streams of priority pollutants such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), pesticides, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (VOC), and PCB, to name but a few. The thrust of the present invention is to remove these priority pollutants from gaseous emissions by high temperature thermal destruction using hydroxy gas, that is, a gaseous mixture of hydrogen and oxygen.
While the use of hydroxy gas to accomplish high temperature burning is not new, the use of this gas in a closely controlled environment for the highly efficient thermal destruction of priority pollutants presents exciting, heretofore largely unexplored possibilities.